It’s not often you find a dress that you absolutely fall in love with, but it’s even more rare to find one that’s also sustainably made, that doesn’t cost the earth and that’s designed by an independent fashion brand. Enter: Molby.
A British-based brand that is blowing up on Instagram right now thanks to its devotion to bang-on-trend gingham checks and that punchy influencer-approved colour palette, Molby is already set to be the summer dress label of the season.
Of course, it sells more than just dresses – with slogan tees and cute hair accessories also available – but it’s these instantly recognisable midis that the fashion pack can’t seem to get enough of. And, to be entirely honest, we can’t either.
Every year there are a handful of ‘IT dresses’ that pop up just as frequently during your evening Instagram scroll as they do on the commute into work. These cult pieces are so often such carbon copies of one another that – such is the social media generation – after a few weeks they’re more likely to encourage the launch of an Instagram page dedicated to sightings of it ‘in the wild’ than they are to lure you into snapping up one for yourself.
This isn’t the case for Molby dresses, and that’s for one very important reason; there are barely two dresses the same.
Thanks to the brand’s impressive slow fashion approach, each piece is designed and handmade to order in Merseyside by founder Karina Molby and her small team of seamstresses.
This means that while there are certain styles and designs that you purchase, customers are able to make small customisations – from fabric and colour to sizing and hem-length – to create countless unique takes on the same brilliant core design.
“My vision is to create beautiful, fun, affordable garments, which can be dressed up or down for all occasions,” explains Karina, whose side-hustle fashion brand took on such a life of its own during lockdown that she gave up her job to concentrate on it full-time.
“I want to encourage conscious, sustainable shopping, by reducing fabric wastage and carbon emissions and creating high-quality, timeless garments.”
Of course, being made-to-order, these pieces take time. But not as long as you might think…
Most items take between 4-6 hours to make, so customers are asked to be patient and allow up to 14 days for the production and postage of each item. Which isn’t bad, when you consider what goes into them.
“The making process can be a long one,” Karina admits, “especially when creating new pieces. The process includes sourcing my own fabrics locally, designing the garments, making patterns, cutting out the fabric, sewing & stitching, labelling and steaming the finished garments before packaging and posting them out.”
This considered approach to fashion is one that’s gaining real traction right now, and despite doing almost everything herself Karina has amassed a loyal following of fashion fans and influencers who can’t get enough of her designs.
Of course, there is a limit to the number of orders Karina can accept, which means she has to theoretically ‘close’ her website to more orders once a certain number has been reached in order to fulfill those purchased.
With the website ‘re-opening’ for orders every Sunday at 6pm, we suggest setting those reminders if you want to snap up your new favourite summer dress because those coveted slots are never available for long.
Scroll down to browse the brand’s highlights and get that wishlist ready…
For more from Glamour UK’s Fashion Editor Charlie Teather, follow her on Instagram @charlieteather.